Motivation and Herzberg's two-factor theory

Meaning of motivation

Motivation is the process of arousing, directing and sustaining a person's effort towards a goal. It comes from unmet needs: a need creates tension, the person acts to satisfy it, and satisfaction reduces the tension. In management, motivation means creating conditions in which employees willingly work hard and well for the organisation's goals. It is internal to the person, it is continuous because new needs keep arising, and it can be positive (rewards) or negative (fear of penalties).

Herzberg's two-factor theory

Frederick Herzberg built his theory from interviews in which professional staff recalled the high and low points of their working lives. What lay behind the good moments turned out to be different from what lay behind the bad ones. Herzberg concluded that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not two ends of one scale: removing the causes of dissatisfaction does not by itself create satisfaction. Hence the theory has two factors.

Hygiene (maintenance) factors

These relate to the context or surroundings of the job. When they are inadequate, employees are dissatisfied; when they are adequate, employees are merely not dissatisfied: they do not become motivated. They include:

• company policy and administration;
• technical supervision;
• relations with supervisors, peers and subordinates;
• working conditions;
• salary;
• job security;
• status;
• personal life as affected by the job.

Motivators

These relate to the content of the job itself. Their presence produces satisfaction and motivation; their absence does not cause strong dissatisfaction. They include:

• achievement;
• recognition for achievement;
• the work itself (challenging, interesting work);
• responsibility;
• advancement;
• growth and learning.

Implications for managers

1. Hygiene factors must be kept at an adequate level to prevent dissatisfaction: fair pay, decent conditions, sound policies.
2. To motivate, managers must improve the job itself through job enrichment: giving more responsibility, autonomy, challenge, feedback and chances to grow.
3. Recognising achievement and providing paths for advancement do more for motivation than further increases in pay alone.

Example. A call-centre raises salaries and improves the canteen, and complaints fall, but productivity does not rise. When it lets experienced agents handle complex cases, mentor new staff and earn the title of senior specialist, performance improves: the first change dealt with hygiene factors, the second with motivators.

Criticism

• The sample (engineers and accountants) was small and not representative of all workers.
• People tend to credit good experiences to themselves and blame bad ones on the surroundings, which may explain the split.
• For many workers, especially lower-paid ones, pay can itself be a motivator.
• The theory says little about individual differences; and critics argue that satisfaction lies on a single continuum and that the results depend on Herzberg's own interview method.

Even so, it drew attention to job content and led to the practice of job enrichment.